No turning back... need advise moving forward
UPDATE : What a Journey it was through the process of buying a RV! It was a awesome but exsulsting experience. First and for most I want to thank all the Full timers that inputted the good, the ...
Forum Discussion
I would say you are doing the right thing for you. You've planned out and critiqued your options in your own minds for some time now and you are ready. My wife and I full timed in a 21 foot trailer for a year, then moved into a 35 foot fifth wheel, which we lived in for a year and a half. In my experience - for me - as long as you have a separate space to go to, the living area is more tolerable. I'm not talking about arguments with your spouse, though that may happen, but just sometimes in life you want to be alone to read, nap, watch a movie, whatever. The 21 foot trailer was open, just one room where as the fifth wheel could be separated with two distinct living areas. In fact in one renovation of a home we contracted out, my wife and I, our son, a cat and dog all lived in a 17 foot Big Foot trailer for four months.
Right now I'm writing this from a 1994 Winnebago Adventurer 32 feet I just bought as our retirement home is being totally renovated. My wife is continuing to work in the big city until roughly Xmas time, then she to will retire. She's letting me go through the reno process on my own pretty much....lol. I have lived in this motorhome for one month with a couple more months to come.
The one mistake I can see you making is the size of your rig, this really does vary from couple to couple. Are you the get up and go type or will you be remaining in one location for extended lengths of time? Do you feel comfortable towing something long and large, or driving something long and large?
I discovered in our lives, something smaller let us be more spontaneous if moving around. The larger the unit got the more "anchored" we were to a location. For me, full timing would be a choice between a fifth wheel and a motorhome. The fifth wheel is safer to tow, easier to back in, and roomier than a travel trailer. The very large fifth wheels in my mind are designed for less travel and more sedentary living, less moving around. A motorhome is designed to be on the go; I know many don't use it that way, anchored to one location but the motorhome shines in long trips, lets say from California up to Alaska, down through British Columbia ending in Texas kind of mode. At one time in the 70's and 80"s, the average trip in a motorhome was 3 months and 6,000 miles. Even now Winnebago offers caravans to Alaska beginning in Washington State and finishing in British Columbia over 60 days.
I am 68 and my wife significantly younger at 60. So we both are still able to be mobile. And advise given to us by our tax accountant was - do what you can while you can; you can always take that Alaskan cruise in a wheelchair with an IV hanging down. So that is how we are going to live. But others find satisfaction anchored in a social community, developing many new friends.
Right now I'm writing this from a 1994 Winnebago Adventurer 32 feet I just bought as our retirement home is being totally renovated. My wife is continuing to work in the big city until roughly Xmas time, then she to will retire. She's letting me go through the reno process on my own pretty much....lol. I have lived in this motorhome for one month with a couple more months to come.
The one mistake I can see you making is the size of your rig, this really does vary from couple to couple. Are you the get up and go type or will you be remaining in one location for extended lengths of time? Do you feel comfortable towing something long and large, or driving something long and large?
I discovered in our lives, something smaller let us be more spontaneous if moving around. The larger the unit got the more "anchored" we were to a location. For me, full timing would be a choice between a fifth wheel and a motorhome. The fifth wheel is safer to tow, easier to back in, and roomier than a travel trailer. The very large fifth wheels in my mind are designed for less travel and more sedentary living, less moving around. A motorhome is designed to be on the go; I know many don't use it that way, anchored to one location but the motorhome shines in long trips, lets say from California up to Alaska, down through British Columbia ending in Texas kind of mode. At one time in the 70's and 80"s, the average trip in a motorhome was 3 months and 6,000 miles. Even now Winnebago offers caravans to Alaska beginning in Washington State and finishing in British Columbia over 60 days.
I am 68 and my wife significantly younger at 60. So we both are still able to be mobile. And advise given to us by our tax accountant was - do what you can while you can; you can always take that Alaskan cruise in a wheelchair with an IV hanging down. So that is how we are going to live. But others find satisfaction anchored in a social community, developing many new friends.
